New Releases for January 6, 2015

CD reissue of cassette-only Untitled 1980 by Italian pioneer of noise and industrial music, paired with a 2013 re-working of the original material into four entirely new compositions.

Blackguard – Storm CD (Victory)

New album from the Canadian death metal band.

Catfish And The Bottlemen – The Balcony CD/LP (Communion)

“If it’s a nostalgia trip to 2004 you’re after, then look no further than this Llandudno rock group’s debut. What The Balcony lacks in subtlety (‘Craving your calls like a soldier’s wife’) and elegance (‘your friends can f##king do one’), it makes up for in confidence. Well produced, its burly riffs and youthful energy recall the turbocharged feeling of a fresher’s week club night. That may not suggest the most cultured sound, but it is far from lifeless. Unlike the Kaisers and Courteeners’s success with their indie rock 2.0, there’s something more stubbornly retrospective about this album.” – The Guardian

Cybotron – Cybotron [Reissue/1976] CD/LP (Dual Planet)

Recently released on vinyl – now available on CD. Digitally remastered edition of the 1976 debut album from the legendary Australian electronic duo. Cybotron was the synthesis of progressive rock and electronic music experimentation. Conceived by pioneers of the Australian electronic underground, Steve Maxwell Von Braund and keyboardist Geoff Green, together they produced a series of mind-altering cosmic albums throughout the 1970s which set the tone for the minimal wave and electronic post punk scene of early 1980s Melbourne. Part Tangerine Dream, part Ash Ra Tempel, Cybotron channeled the spirit of Krautrock to create their own unique brand of throbbing komische electronica rivaling the futuristic vision of their German counterparts.

Digitally remastered reissue of this 1976 album from the comedian/actor. Ne’er a truer word was spoken. And, lest someone be offended by the title of this album, let’s just remember that this is Redd Foxx, the guy who practically invented off-color humor.

Dylan Gardner – Adventures In Real Time CD/LP (WB)

“Simply put, this is one hell of an accomplished debut. If Gardner’s occasionally guilty of wearing his influences a little too enthusiastically on his sleeve (the record’s first lines are ‘I’ll be John and you be Yoko’) and there’s a puppyish eagerness to the aggressively layered production, the overall effect is more ingratiating than irritating. Gardner’s energy is infectious, and no matter how hard these arrangements push the line between clever and cluttered, they never let you forget that there are honest-to-God songs keeping things anchored under all the oohs, aahs, and handclaps. You can tell they were built from the ground up rather than bloated out as a misguided means to an end.” — Popdose

Go Dark – Bitchsword CD (Abandoned Building)

Bitchsword, is the debut EP from Oakland duo Go Dark (Doseone and Ash). Go Dark met on the streets of Oakland one eve when they stopped to watch the same street fight. Amidst the pushes and shoves, sticks and jabs the two made eye contact and noticed the other one smiling back at them. A moment of telepathy occurred in which they said let’s make some music. They’ve been thrashing buttons and cutting analog kick-drum-centric electronic music ever since.

The Israeli mega-legends and psy-trance innovators Infected Mushroom are at it again with Friends On Mushrooms. This release not only combines the three fan-favorite EPs Friends On Mushrooms Volumes 1 – 3 into one epic album, but also offers two exclusive new tracks, “Kafkaf” and “Kazabubu.” Continuing the evolution of their groundbreaking musical journey, the sub-genre pioneers deliver hypnotic arrangement, complex layered melodies, and synthetic rhythms in this mind-melting contribution.

For the score to Holy Mountain, composers include Jodorowsky, studio musician Ron Frangipane and jazz legend Don Cherry. The wide-ranging score includes everything from hard rock to lush orchestral romanticism to noir-ish jazz and beyond. Alternately lush and comical, brooding and wistful, the score to The Dance Of Reality is, as always with a Jodorowsky film, surreal.

Koloto – Mechanica + Remixes CD (Abandon Building)

Heralding from pastoral Canterbury, Kent, Koloto is the pseudonym of Maria Sullivan, electronic music producer and multi-instrumentalist. Her sound infuses elements of world music, electronica, post-rock, hip-hop and musique concrète. Drawing influences from artists such as edIT, Squarepusher, Four Tet, Baths and Amon Tobin, Koloto’s music is a refreshing take on the over-saturated electronica genre, especially as similarity and adherence to passing fads seems to have become the modus operandi.

Digitally remastered twofer containing a pair of albums from the ’70s soul outfit plus one bonus track. Originally formed in 1964 and known as The Poets, the New York-based trio of Luther Simmons Jr., Tony Silvester and Donald McPherson recorded a couple of singles for RCA Records before a name change in 1968 to The Main Ingredient.

Jackie Moore – Complete Atlantic Recordings 2xCD (Real Gone Music)

Double-CD collection from one of the great southern soul divas of the ’60s and ‘70s. Florida-born soul singer Jackie Moore began her recording career in 1968 with singles on the Shout and Wand labels; however it was her first release for Atlantic Records in early 1970 that catapulted her to national prominence in the US with a song that started out as the B-side to her debut single for the label.

Neck Deep – Rain In July/A History Of Bad Decisions CD/LP (Hopeless)

Remixed and remastered reissues of the UK pop/punk band’s first two EPs.

Joshua Radin – Onward & Sideways CD/LP (Glass Bead/Fat Possum)

Onward And Sideways is the sixth album from singer/songwriter, Joshua Radin. The album includes a brand new version of ”Beautiful Day” featuring vocals by Sheryl Crow.

Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross – Gone Girl OST CD (Columbia)

Gone Girl is directed by David Fincher. The music for the film is by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Trent and Atticus have worked with Fincher on two previous films, The Social Network, for which they won an Oscar for Best Original Score, and the critically acclaimed The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Gone Girl is a thriller based on the bestselling book of the same name and stars Ben Affleck, Rosamond Pike and Neil Patrick Harris. Vinyl version due January 20.

Rae Sremmurd – Sremmlife CD (Interscope)

Debut studio album from hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd. The album includes the singles ”No Flex Zone”, ”No Type” and “Throw Sum Mo.”

A Skylit Drive – Rise: Ascension CD (Tragic Hero)

An acoustic reimagining of the band’s 2013 album Rise.

Spazzkid – Desire CD (Abandon Building)

Spazzkid – Promise CDEP (Abandon Building)

In the rolling green hills outside of Los Angeles, Spazzkid, the moniker of electronic producer and songwriter Mark Redito, finds refuge in positive beat driven melodies with a yearning to express his ever-evolving love of life and adventure. Once locked in his bedroom producing uplifting beats that made the world feel young, Redito has exploded onto the scene crossing genres and styles with a keen beat maker sensibility that has proven relatable for multifarious crowds, attracting fans of all ages and backgrounds.

Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb – Noun CD/LP (Big Neck)

Short, fast, meat-and-potatoes punk in the vein of The Reatards, Teengenerate, and New Bomb Turks.

Sunshine State – Pour CD/LP+MP3 (No Idea)

Pour is the 12-song debut album by Gainesville, FL’s Sunshine State, featuring past and present members of Against Me! and Whiskey & Co. Available on CD and on picture disc vinyl.

75 Dollar Bill formed in New York City in 2012; the singular music of this instrumental duo—Che Chen and Rick Brown—draws various sources from around the world and across disciplines, everything from Mauritanian guitar to raw minimalism and blown-out urban blues, yet sounds unlike anything we’ve heard before. Wooden Bag is their debut vinyl release, and is packaged in a hand-stamped sleeve.

Alcoa – Thank You LP (Bridge Nine)

New EP from New Hampshire folk/punk artist Alcoa.

Bal Paré – Early Recordings LP (Medical Records)

The band name was based on the song “Es war beim Bal Paré “ from the German chansonette Hildegard Knef, which was a musical influence beside bands like Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, Erasure, Yazoo, etc. The first Bal Paré LP Hamburg-Paris-Catania was released in 1982 on Konkurrenz Records. There were many tracks produced during this time that ended up unreleased. Much of the material from this selection of tracks was culled from unreleased sessions from the ‘80s. HQ-180gm vinyl.

The Band In Heaven – The Boys Of Summer Of Sam 7” (HoZac)

“Summer is gone, friends, and with the cold bleak months that lie ahead of us in the Midwest, we’re excited to unleash another unsettling dose of the band in heaven, churning forth two more direct hits of skull-softening Middle-Eastern tinged space rock destined to drain the fluids from your ears, while seductively stealing your valuable organs for the black market.”

Death Waltz is very happy to be continuing our series of John Carpenter and Alan Howarth reissues with Prince Of Darkness, undoubtedly one of Carpenter’s darkest and most underrated films with a score that complements the movie’s images perfectly. This has to be one of the most understated, atmospheric and downright scary soundtracks ever made. Carpenter and Howarth keep it simple with oodles of tension, listen to this late at night in the dark and you won’t be going to sleep anytime soon. Features exclusive new cover art by Sam Smith.

Connections intersect at points we normally might be reluctant to tread, a la the dreaded “indie rock” misnomer, but if you listen close, this is much more than just a tossed off GBV reference you see in every review they’ve garnered so far. The 5 Imaginary Boys EP combines five glimpses into the Connections’ melodically off-kilter, yet always honest and bitter world, taking perfectly strung-out pop to another level of sardonic simplicity in each burst after bleeding burst.

Dan Padilla – Sports Fans LP (Dirt Cult)

New release from this San Diego punk band featuring members of Titlwheel, Too Many Daves, Madison Bloodbath, and others.

Electric Eels – Accident b/w Wreak And Roll 7” (HoZac)

Another devastating chunk of festering Midwest proto punk from the inimitable Electric Eels, and the second installment in HoZac’s singles series with these scurrilous sub-creatures of Ohio’s rich musical history chucks forth two more cauterizing cuts of whiplash thug rock your thin plane of existence just might not survive without.

England’s Glory – City Of Fun / Shattered Illusions 7” (HoZac)

You may know the other version of “City Of Fun” from the debut LP by The Only Ones, but this version is much heavier, and massively punchier. From the very first lead guitar screech, you’ll already know what a massive hit this track is, and how on earth it could have slipped through the cracks? As epic and raucous as any of it’s other class of ’71 peers, it cleverly balanced the quiet moments with the crashes, creating a complex yet simple textured formula of rock & roll perfection.

East meets west on this long-lost and super rare 1973 jazz album from Israel. Headed by Albert Piamenta, The Jazz Workshop was a group of jazz pioneers from the Middle East who sought to make the connection between the countries of their upbringing and the hardcore New York jazz sound of the ‘60s. Druze, Arab and Jewish folk compositions interpreted in a deep, mystical yet thumping manner, making this an absolute gem for jazz collectors and DJs alike.

Joyce Manor/Toys That Kill – Split 7” (Recess Records)

Clocking in at eight minutes and consisting of a mere four songs, this split EP is just a quick taste of what these raw pop-punk (emphasis on pop and punk) bands are capable of.

Lazer/Wulf – The Beast Of Left And Right LP (Retro Futurist)

Lazer/Wulf is an instrumental metal trio, which sometimes includes vocals. No, let’s start over. It’s a funk group with thrash roots. Or a jazz trio with sludge issues. Whatever it is, it’s not the easiest thing to describe, which makes it that much easier to love. Released on Carl McGinley of Kylesa’s Retro Futurist label.

Le Cliché – Consumer Behaviour LP (Medical Records)

Consumer Behaviour consists of 11 songs influenced largely by European synth pop of the late 1970s and early 1980s (The Human League, John Foxx, OMD, early Depeche Mode, Japan, Gary Numan, Propaganda and Kraftwerk.). More recent influences include the first album by Miss Kittin & The Hacker, Tiga, Benny Benassi, Erlend Øye and Ladytron. The music might be best described as minimal synth, synth pop, postmodernist, cold assembly line with neo consumerist themes, based on the use of synth sequences and virtual voices.

The Mad – Mask EP 12” (Brain Transplant)

Previously unreleased studio session recorded in 1978 by NYC punk band The Mad. Features three songs (“Mask,” “Eyeball,” and “Devil”) pressed at 45 rpm as a one-sided clear vinyl 12”. Screaming Mad George artwork is silkscreened on the blank B-side.

Lubomyr Melnyk – Evertina 10” (Erased Tapes)

Featuring three newly composed solo piano pieces, this long-form EP showcases another side to Lubomyr Melnyk—his more gentle and melodic work. In 2012 Lubomyr’s ears began to notice the remarkable tonal depth of upright pianos. To Lubomyr the upright piano sound is like a natural forest of microcosmic colors. “Evertina” and “Awaiting” were created on a middle-aged upright piano at a friend’s home in New York in October 2012—just before Hurricane Sandy hit the city.

Mixed Feelings – Remnants LP (Medical Records)

Medical Records in partnership with Crispy Nuggets Blog present the unreleased recordings of England’s Mixed Feelings. Mixed Feelings grew up in Basildon, which was also the home of Depeche Mode (in fact, they went to the same school). In 1981, Sean Cooper met Martin Gore on holiday, and they instantly hit it off discussing synthesizers, school, teachers, etc. After a few bands, Sean started a band with longtime friend Geoff with influences like old disco and a bit of post-punk for good measure. The first incarnation was called Polyphonic Movements but changed to Mixed Feelings after their friends Mark, Alan, and Pete joined the band. This LP is a collection of known recordings by the group.

Stevie Moore – Ariel Pink’s Picks Vol. 1 2xLP+MP3 (Personal Injury)

As with all matters related to Ariel Pink and R. Stevie Moore, the exact details are vague—but the origins of this compilation can be traced to Ariel Pink’s My Molly EP from 2006. Included with the EP was a postcard insert that featured a hand drawn road map to what Ariel considered to be RSM’s best songs from each era. This illustrated his deep appreciation for, and understanding of, R. Stevie’s vast catalog. Nearly all of the selections on this release come from that list and all were recorded between 1973 and 1984.

Shawn Mrazek Lives! – First Into The Lake 7” (Kingfisher Bluez)

Follow up to their sold-out LP Thought He Was Dead (being reissued this year by Kingfisher Bluez) Shawn Mrazek (of Evaporators and The Doers) sounds as alive as ever. “Go-karts, jack-o-lanterns, rainbows, and lakes” he sings in a joyous hymn to an idyllic Canadian autumn. Limited to 300 hand-numbered copies pressed on one-sided vinyl.

Parquet Courts – Content Nausea LP (What’s Your Rupture)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Content Nausea, Parkay Quarts’ second release of 2014, is the inevitable repercussion to Sunbathing Animal‘s pure emotion. With one member completing a degree in mathematics, and another starting a family, Content Nausea features mostly the work of Andrew Savage and Austin Brown, with the help of a few friends (Jackie-O Motherf##ker’s Jef Brown on Saxaphone and Eaters’ Bob Jones on fiddle).

Plaza – Party Games 12” (Voltaire)

Plaza is the sound of Johan Churchill, a vintage drum machine and synthesizer freak, churning out a hybrid of playful acid house, boogie-funk, and Italo, and often pairing it with a fine wine. Armed with the Oberheim DX drum machine, a 707, 202, Prophet 600, OB-8, Roland JX-SP, and countless others, Plaza corralled and manipulated this arsenal of electronic friends to create the Party Games EP in his home studio, The Voyeur’s Loft, in San Francisco.

Primordial – Where Greater Men Have Fallen 2xLP (Metal Blade)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Primordial’s new album brings their melding of black metal and Irish folk music full circle.

The Real Kids – Shake… Outta Control LP (Ugly Pop)

It’s been 38 years since Boston’s Real Kids debuted with one of the finest rock & roll record ever committed to tape, and now they’re back with a long-awaited new full-length on Ugly Pop.

Santa y su Gente – Urgente [Reissue/1974] LP (Lion Productions)

Limited vinyl LP repressing of this rare 1974 album. In the 1970’s in Chile, recording anything was complicated. The state-owned IRT label was administered by the military. Domestic releases gave way to an invasion of foreign music. Few groups had the good fortune to overcome the prevailing censorship: this was the case with Santa y su Gente (Santa And His People). Urgente is a scintillating brew of Latin Afro-jazz fusion, with something powerful to say and beats galore.

Cuba has become something of a low-flying classic since its release in 1987. The band’s brand of rock & roll qualifies as pre-Uncle Tupelo alternative country, highlighted by the addition of Mary Rowell’s violin. While songs like “Tennessee Fire” and “She Lives Up the Street” have given the Silos a reputation for rock & roll, they also excel with gentler ballads. The acoustic “Margaret” is one of the album’s best moments, highlighted by an acoustic arrangement and Dave Pearlman’s steel guitar.

Stay Clean Jolene – Stay Clean Jolene LP (Dead Broke)

Debut 10-track album from Manchester veteran punkers. Ex-members of The Great St. Louis and The Leif Ericsson. Old school sounding melodic punk rock in the vein of Leatherface and Broccoli.

Damo Suzuki & Mugstar – Start From Zero LP (Important)

The shamanic presence of the legendary Damo Suzuki immersed in the full-on, intense sound of Mugstar, as they forge forward through the deep space of Kraut/psych.

Sweatshop Boys – Great Depression LP (Dirt Cult)

New album from the Israeli punk rock band. Members are also in the surf band Orions.

Timmy Vulgar, Detroit’s favorite son, and most ambitiously amphibious creative force doesn’t need much of an introduction to anyone familiar with subversive punk music over the past decade and a half. He’s been such an irreplaceable figure in each of his musical endeavors since his emergence in such legendary acts such as the Epileptix and Clone Defects back in the late 1990s, right up through his shape-shifting efforts in the mollusk-like Human Eye and the prog-soaked Reptilian Forcefield, and straight into his latest nerve-numbing scatter bomb known simply as Timmy’s Organism.

Various Artists – Slow Grind Fever Volume 3 LP (Stag-O-Lee)

Stag-O-Lee presents the third volume of Slow Grind Fever. The decade between 1953 and 1963 offers an endless supply of danceable, up-tempo tunes. We’re talking rhythm ‘n’ blues, and the phase in the early-‘60s when it morphed into soul (now called new breed), as well as popcorn — Belgian music with a mid-tempo style and a high groove-factor. The Slow Grind Fever series highlights the slower side of this period, and takes its title and inspiration from an Australian club night billed as “Melbourne’s only slow dance party.”

Wet Socks – Drips LP (Retro Futurist)

Wet Sock’s debut full-length Drips is a blistering psychedelic nest of fuzz and surf beats woven with lyrical melodies and infectious hooks. It’s hard to believe these songs are performed by a duo, but this Savannah-based pair offer the entire snarl and thump of a band twice their size. Produced by Phillip Cope (Kylesa, Baroness, Black Tusk) at Jam Room Studio, their rowdy brand of garage rock & roll comes through dirty and raw with killer guitar and drum tones for a true lo-fi garage sound that doesn’t sacrifice fidelity.

Cassettes:

Sediment Club – 30 Seconds Too Late (NNA Tapes)

Feast your ears upon this terse, bleak statement of musical panic from young three-piece Sediment Club. Comprised of Austin Julian, Lazar Bozic, and Jackie McDermott (on guitar, bass, and drums, respectively), the ‘Club has diligently been bringing their rock & racket to basements and dungeons across the nation, as 30 Seconds Too Late comes hot on the heels of their recent full USA tour. Using a Ouija board to call upon the spirits of the classic eras of noise rock, no wave, and post-punk, Sediment Club show us a refreshingly raw and unique perspective, firmly gripping the torch of their Northeastern weird underground brethren.

VaVatican – I Love You (Dora Lee) (NNA Tapes)

Confusion is the name of the game on “I Love You (Dora Lee)”, the new full-length from NYC quartet VaVatican. Self-described by the group as “the first half of a two-part absurdist sound saga”, this single piece spread across two sides of magnetic tape unfolds exactly as such.

What starts out as a lush, dynamic, and melodic tapestry of almost post-rock soundscapes abruptly collides into a grating wall of upper-register harmonic extended saxophone technique, and continues this journey into confounding new territories throughout the duration of the recording.